Jerry Maren, who portrayed the Lollipop Kid in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," was the last surviving Munchkin of the 125 little people who were in the film.

I had the pleasure of meeting him quite a few years ago at Fortunoff's in Old Westbury. He, and fellow former Munchkins Karl Slover and Mickey Carroll, were at the store for a promotional session about the film.

My wife and I spoke with them for about 15 minutes, and before we left he said to me with tears in his eyes, "it's people like you and your wife that will keep this movie alive long after we are all gone."

I told him he could rest assured that we would always keep "The Wizard of Oz" in our hearts.

Now, Jerry Maren has joined Karl Slover, Mickey Carroll, Charlie Becker, Meinhard Rabe, Elsie Schultz, Margaret Pellegrini, and 117 other former Munchkins in that big Emerald City in the sky.